Valheim invades PC Game Pass at the end of September
It’s staying in early access for now
Co-op survival Viking fest Valheim has a confirmed release date for its arrival on Microsoft’s PC Game Pass service, and it’s not too far over the horizon. September 29th is the date you’ll want to mark in your runic calendars, which I assume are constructed out of some variety of standing stone formation. The date was announced during last night’s ID@Xbox stream.
Iron Gate and Microsoft first announced that Valheim would arrive on Game Pass back during Not-E3 in June. If you’ve got an Xbox or know someone who does then they’ll be able to play it from some time in early 2023 too, and there’ll be crossplay between the console and PC versions. Iron Gate say that Steam and players using Microsoft Store and PC Game Pass will be able to play together too. The game will stay in early access for the foreseeable future, as Iron Gate insist they have “quite a bit left to add to the game” before it reaches 1.0.
The Viking craft ‘em up was something of a PC sensation last year, making it onto our best games of 2021 list. It sold more than two million copies in a fortnight, and reaching 6.8 million sales around four months after it launched into early access. Not too shabby. Iron Gate have been adding to the game in that time, including an update back in March with mysterious frost caves and optimisations for Steam Deck.
We’ve got plenty of guides for anyone starting out in Valheim when it rocks up on Game Pass at the end of the month. First port of call would be Ollie’s beginner’s guide to Valheim, which should get you up to speed with the game quickly. You never know, you might even find yourself falling in love with one of Valheim’s boars like Ed. “Then one day, a burst of yellow love hearts sprung from the boar," he said. "Had our son finally accepted us as its father? I leapt over the gate and sprinted towards our pig, and for the first time ever, it didn't draw blood.”
Valheim’s available in early access on Steam right now for £16/$20/€17. If you’re a PC Game Pass subscriber then you can download it from September 29th. It’ll also be purchasable on the Microsoft Store.